At solemn event in Spodnja Idrija, the Minister of the Economy Darja Radić, MSc, together with Hidria’s Chairman Edvard Svetlik, the President of the Programme Board of IN PRIME Danijel Krivec and the Director of IN PRIME d.o.o., Almira Pirih, MSc, laid the foundation stone for the construction of the new unit of the IN PRIME Technology Park (TP) in Spodnja Idrija in which the new premises of Hidria Institute for Materials and Technologies will also be located.

This is the third development institute of the Hidria Corporation which will represent an important building block of Hidria’s Innovation Centre. The Business Centre IN PRIME was designed in the Goriška region in 2008 and its principal vision is to develop the Goriška region into the leading European region in the area of managing energy, advanced material and technologies for sustainable development. The project Translator's proposal IN PRIME was designed as the central part of the business centre, connecting global companies or corporations from the region, which belong among the most successful in the areas concerned.

The TP IN PRIME project worth EUR 24.8 million was approved at the end of 2008 at the public tender of the Public Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments (JAPTI), and EUR 10 million were also obtained for it from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The total value of investment in the unit TP IN PRIME in Spodnja Idrija is EUR 7.4 million of which EUR 3.72 million will be obtained from the abovementioned European fund while the same amount will be contributed for the construction of the new TP unit by Hidria.

TP IN PRIME has a network design and is located at four places in the region – in addition to Spodnja Idrija also in Ajdovščina, Šempeter pri Gorici and Anhovo. In the area covering a total of 10,000 square metres of business premises, there will be sufficient space for the technology centres of four companies crucial for the development of the region; furthermore, new innovative technological companies will be founded, providing new jobs with high added value.

The four companies that are crucial for the development of the region are Primorje, Salonit in Iskra Avtoelektrika and Hidria. In the new building in Spodnja Idrija, new premises will be available for Hidria Institute for Materials and Technologies, which was founded in 2005, and is today carrying out the innovative activity in the premises of Hidria Rotomatika. The Institute focuses on the development of innovative technological and product solutions for the automotive industry and indoor-climate industry. By looking for new environmentally-friendly materials and technologies that allow for efficient use of alternative energy sources, development of solutions for hybrid and electrical vehicles and the use of advantages of advanced nanotechnologies and nanomaterials, it ensures growth of Hidria’s competitive advantage and the status of pre-development supplier on the European and the global market.

In the new laboratories in Spodnja Idrija, the expert team of Hidria Institute for Materials and Technologies will have excellent opportunities for working according to the modern system of open innovation. The institute shall provide adequate competencies for Hidria which enable it to ensure quick movement of innovations to the market. This is primarily enabled by the “virtual development" which allows for fast and efficient designing of products, implementation of function simulations and thus final optimisation of products.

The new building will be located in the close vicinity of Hidria Rotomatika in Spodnja Idrija based on the plans of the company Božič Inženiring, construction will be supervised by the company Tušar Inženiring while all construction works will be performed by Zidgrad from Idrija. The new unit TP IN PRIME and accordingly the new Hidria Institute which is planned to be completed by the end of the next year will be particularly interesting from the point of view of inbuilt systems and use of alternative energy sources, including Hidria’s solar systems. Hidria is well aware of its environmental responsibility and this and similar projects enable it to strengthen its position among the leading companies in the field of green technologies.